Watch your speed on National Slow Down

AN Garda Síochána are conducting a national speed enforcement operation, 'Slow Down', supported by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and other stakeholders today.

The 24-hour operation got underway at 7 a.m. and continues through to 7 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday).

The aim of Slow Down Day is to remind drivers of the dangers of speeding, to increase compliance with speed limits and act as a deterrent to driving at excessive or inappropriate speed.

The overall objective is to reduce the number of speed related collisions, save lives and reduce injuries on our roads.

In the period January - December 2020 there were 137 fatal collisions resulting in 148 fatalities on Irish roads.

Excessive and inappropriate speed is a major contributory factor in road traffic collisions, confirmed by an RSA report on fatal collisions between 2008 and 2012 which found that excessive speed was a contributory factor in almost one third of all fatal collisions during that time. The higher the speed, the greater the likelihood is of a collision happening and the more severe the outcome of that collision.

During the first two hours of National Slow Down Day this morning, An Garda Síochána and GoSafe checked the speed of 29,593 vehicles and detected 171 travelling in excess of the applicable speed limit.

Said Chief Superintendent Ray McMahon of the Roads Policing Bureau: ”While most drivers and riders drive safely and within the limits, there are unfortunately still those who do not. National Slow Down Day is about making our roads and our communities safer.

“During the current Covid-19 restrictions we have seen an increase in the number of vulnerable users on our roads. Despite reduced volumes of traffic on our roads the levels of speed has increased.”

As a general rule a 1% reduction in average speed will bring about a 4% reduction in fatal collisions, and this is why reducing motorists’ speed is essential to improving road safety.